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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. ground — the earth
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ground — crushed
  7. club — for golf
  8. track — a path
  9. tear — from crying
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. track — to keep track
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — a skill
  16. ground — a position
  17. track — a song
  18. club — a group
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stock — goods
  21. ball — a dance
  22. club — for dancing
  23. ball — a great time
  24. branch — a division

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com